Monday, June 25, 2012

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO The Bible teaches proportionate giving. In the Old Testament, the tithe, or 10%, was to be returned to God. The same principle of proportionate giving carries over into the New Testament. As Christians we are not to give arbitrarily or haphazardly. God has gifted us with a certain amount of financial resources, a portion of which we are to give back to him for kingdom work.

From 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 we could paraphrase Paul this way: “Don’t take an arbitrary approach to giving; it’s much too important for that.” That is, don’t say, “well, I guess I’ll give $25 to my church,” or “I guess I’ll increase my giving by $5.” Consider what proportion or percentage of income you are now giving. Is that a proper proportion? If not, then what is? Paul pointed to the Macedonian Christians who “gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability” (2 Cor. 8:3).

Begin by letting God’s Word speak to you. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Mal.3:10).

Then make the careful and prayerful decision, which Paul suggested, for giving. “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7). Let God’s Word and the inspiration of his Holy Spirit be your guide.

Prayer Focus: Ask God to put into your heart the earnest desire to be a cheerful, proportionate giver.

Next Week: Are You Robbing God?

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1-(866) 489-3533The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

You may not realize how many men and women there are, who served God’s people faithfully across the years, and now find themselves struggling to meet even their basic needs of food, medicine and electricity. Most of these ministers served in small, rural churches that paid them very modest salaries and could not afford to contribute toward their retirement. In many instances they had to work extra jobs just to make ends meet.

Mission:Dignity™ is the name GuideStone Financial Resources, formerly the Annuity Board, SBC, has given that part of its mission which provides critical financial assistance to thousands of retired ministers and their widows across the nation for housing, food and medications, while seeking to ensure a well-deserved dignity and independence. And 100% of your gifts go to help someone in need with nothing taken out for administrative expenses.

You will be pleased to know your Kentucky Baptist Foundation partners with GuideStone in supplementing those Mission:Dignity recipients living in Kentucky. This supplement is provided from the earnings of the Baptist Minister’s Aid Endowment Fund, which was established 122 years ago.

You can participate in this important “relief” ministry by sending a designated gift directly to GuideStone and/or to the KBF. Your gift can be in the form of a check, appreciated assets like stocks or real estate, a beneficiary designation of life insurance or retirement account and/or a bequest in your will.

For more information about this ministry and how you can support it click on www.missiondignitysbc.org, call toll free 1.888.984.8433 or call me toll free at 1.866.489.3421.

What an opportunity to assist a generation of God called servants, who loved their churches, and their churches loved them, but for whom planning for the future was not emphasized when they began serving. They went into the ministry with no turning back. They trusted the Lord to provide, and they put the needs of their churches first. Now they need and deserve our help. Let Mission:Dignity Sunday, June 24, be the day you decide to help.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Where do you get your Baptist news and views? I read weekly the Western Recorder, our official Kentucky Baptist news journal since 1919, because I believe it is the most complete, reliable and readily available source of staying informed about key issues in Kentucky Baptist life and beyond.

I know I can depend upon the Western Recorder because I have confidence in its leadership and governance. Like the Foundation, the Western Recorder is an agency of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and therefore, is accountable to the primary constituency it serves through established reporting procedures. In keeping with the historic, time-honored Baptist principle of a free press, I appreciate how well editor Todd Deaton fulfills the paper’s purposes with integrity and insight, and without fear or favor. I am also proud of the professional way in which the news is presented. It’s an award-winning paper year-after-year.

Baptist news and views from the Western Recorder are available to you today in a variety of formats. The website, www.westernrecorder.org, has become a primary portal for current news with a video segment. There is a digital edition with email alerts. An online subscription option will be available soon.

Although the specific mission of the Western Recorder may not generate as much emotion and passion as the mission of a Christian education institution, a children’s ministry, a human needs ministry or a missions and evangelism ministry, it is nonetheless an essential component in our cooperative missions efforts to connect all people to Jesus Christ, and therefore, worthy of enhancing and preserving.

Let me encourage you prayerfully to consider supporting this ministry now and/or in the future by contributing to an existing endowment or establishing your own endowment. Perhaps you have appreciated securities or real estate to give, or the cash value of a life insurance policy you no longer need. Perhaps a bequest in your will or revocable living trust, or a retirement plan beneficiary designation would work for you. Please call us toll-free to assist you.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1-(866) 489-3533The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Monday, June 4, 2012

NET WORTH-WEEK 4

HOW
MUCH DOES A PERSON NEED?

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

“Dad, if you had as much
money as Bill Gates, would we live in a bigger house?With that, my younger son, Glen, at age 13
presented me the opportunity (a) to bear witness to him of my stewardship
convictions and (b) to test the integrity of those convictions.

How much does a person
need? The Russian novelist Tolstoy
wrote a story titled, “How Much Land Does A Man Need?”It was the story of a simple peasant who had
lived on someone else’s land until he heard an estate was going to be divided
and sold to the peasants.Excited, he
went to the extraordinary lengths to gain 20 acres for himself.

Soon he discovered owning 20
acres was not as satisfying as he expected; he wanted more.So he sold the 20 acres and purchased 200
acres in another place.The same pangs
of dissatisfaction set in.He discovered
another opportunity where the regional chief would sell him all the land he
could walk around in one day with the condition he had to return where he
started by sundown.

At sunrise he set out to
encircle all the land possible.With so
much at stake he did not stop to eat, drink or rest.Anxious to acquire as much as possible he
failed to measure the time and distance.As the sun began to set he realized how far away he was from the
starting point.Fear gripped him.Because of his greed, he might lose it
all.As fast as he could he ran, and as
the last beam of sun disappeared, he staggered back to the starting point.He had acquired an immense tract of land, but
having overtaxed his heart, he fell to the ground and died on the spot.

The story ends with the
question of the title, “how much land does a man need?”In this case, only a plot six feet long,
three feet wide and four feet deep – enough to bury him.

The answer I gave my son was
“I hope not. Even though it would be tempting, I have learned seeking to
satisfy my deepest hungers with possessions does not work.

Prayer Focus: Ask God to help you measure your net worth not just by
the things you have, but also by the things you have for which you would not
take money.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1-(866) 489-3533The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

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